Peeling onions with my naked nails br Oh how close I come to paring off my parchment skin br And on it I shall write: if all else fails br This you shall send to those I’ve harbored, allies, foe and kin: br br Come here and read, my cold and heedless peers, br That I, constrained by expectations, image, hunger, need, br Have found beneath the skin a well of tears br And with serrated slicing into stinging flesh I’ve freed br br The piercing fragrance live between each petal, br Layered bodies, one upon the other, sinew, bone, br Bleached by salt and sweat to pearly metal; br The bulby victim yields and each cut screams, no more, atone! br br Until upon my maple board I Leah br Slice and chop and say my weeping is the blinding sun br That pierces through the glass like a betrayer br Waiting for my soup and sauces, sweeter once I’ve done. br br 5.6.